Life and Love Go On
by moonrainer
Summary: An insight into the thoughts and feelings of the cave dwellers after the original story ends.
1. Kyle

**A/N** All the characters and places you recognise here are based on Stephenie Meyer's "The Host". The story below, however, is entirely my own.

* * *

It's been fifteen weeks, to the day. (He's been keeping count. How could he not?) Fifteen weeks since he took the old body with the new soul living inside of it.

Fifteen weeks of looking for _her_. Jodi. Hope is a tenacious thing. And still, she's nowhere to be found.

All this counting, and it still feels like he's lost track of time. So much has happened, it seems like a year could have passed. At lot has changed. But she's been with him since that very first day, refusing to leave his side.

Sunny.

Sometimes, he catches himself staring at her ponytail, or her shoulder blades, or her fingers, and damn, even her face, seeing everything just as it is, forgetting to look for the person he used to love. And he hates himself for it, though he can't deny that the weight on his shoulders feels lighter then, almost bearable.

Because there _is _someone there. Someone different, but special nonetheless.

He can't help but protect Sunny. _It's Jodi's body_, he tells himself, but then he's not completely sure it's really just that. Because there's something in her eyes that seems to latch onto something deep inside of him.

He remembers this feeling from years ago; this spark that, if left unattended, could light his heart on fire. _Will,_ he corrects himself, because he just _knows._

And for some reason, he welcomes the thought. He knows it's selfish, but he's tired of being alone. He wants to be happy again, like before. But this time, it will be different.

* * *

**A/N** Welcome to this madness! I thought I'd try my hand something more experimental (especially writing in the present tense), and so far I've been enjoying it. I've got a couple more ideas jotted down that I could use for future chapters (taking other characters' POV), so let's hope I'll manage to develop them further.  
As always, thanks a million for reading!


	2. Melanie

**A/N** All the characters and places you recognise here are based on Stephenie Meyer's "The Host". The story below, however, is entirely my own.

* * *

_It's good to be alone_, she tells herself as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. In the darkness, only her own voice reverberates in her head, and it makes her feel somewhat empty.

But isn't this what she's so desperately wanted all this time? To be in control, to be able to think her own thoughts without being interrupted, to have her body's sensations all to herself, to be only one person: Melanie?

Then again, there's something soothing about sharing all your feelings —joy, surprise, hope, desire, fear, pain— directly and so intensely, that she can't help but feel nostalgic for that.

Though she'd never admit it of course. She's always been strong, a fighter. She can bear her emotions on her own. She always had, before Wanda.

Despite everything, she's grateful for what happened. That, out of all souls that could have been inserted into her head, it was Wanda she'd ended up with. That, against all odds, they both survived. That they managed to protect who they loved. That they made it through and became sisters in the process. And every experience they'd shared only got them to where they are now, and it seems like it's where they are supposed to be.

But she misses her. A lot.

Sometimes, she tries to reach for her, combing her brain for any trace left of her, only to be disappointed yet again. She knows it's stupid, irrational, nonsensical even, but her heart aches when she can't find her. It longs for Wanda.

It's a love different from the one she shares with Jared. It goes deeper, because —and she cringes at how ridiculous it sounds— the connection is solely spiritual; pure, from soul to soul. It's a bond that will never be completely severed.

But mostly, it's a memory. And she is scared, because it's fading.

* * *

**A/N** It is done! I have to admit that it took me a bit of time to figure out what exactly Melanie felt for Wanda, but here we are. And now I feel bad for making her so miserable...


End file.
